Category Archives: Belgium

Verzet Oud Bruin

Brewery: Brouwerij ‘t Verzet
Country: Belgium
ABV: 6%
Style: Belgian Flanders Oud Bruin
Other Notes: Editie 2014

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Flemish Red Brown Ale.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.43
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.3

Intro: A 12.7 fl. oz. bottle with an expiry date of 19th December 2025. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A clear amber orange copper colour with a nice two finger beige head, that had good retention and eventually settled to a thin replenishing cap, while leaving nice lacing.
Aroma: Sour, strawberry, balsamic vinegar, cherry, and light oak.
Taste: Tart, sour, balsamic vinegar, oak, with fruity notes of strawberry, cherry and blackberry.
Mouthfeel: Dry, medium to light bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: The balsamic notes were strong, and along with wood notes, overpowered the berry fruitiness that I prefer.

Verzet Super Boil

Brewery: Brouwerij ‘t Verzet
Country: Belgium
ABV: 6%
Style: Belgian Flanders Oud Bruin
Other Notes: Super Boil 2016. Boiled on 16 December 2016

Brewer Description: (from bottle in Dutch) Deze speciale editie van onze Oud Bruin wordt 16 uur gekookt, ipv de gangbare 1,5 uur. De Maillard-reactie die daardoor ontstaat geeft het zure bier een zachter karakter, leerden we uit oude brouwersgeschriften. Het bier verbleef exact 324 dagen in houten vaten. De Super Boil is beduidend donkerder van kleur dan de conventionele versie en heeft een ronder karakter, iets volmondiger. De geur en het aroma hebben iets vineus met hints van hout en vanille.

(Translated from Dutch to English) This special edition of our Oud Bruin is cooked for 16 hours, instead of the usual 1.5 hours. The Maillard reaction that arises gives the sour beer a softer character, we learned from old brewer’s writings. The beer spent exactly 324 days in wooden barrels. The Super Boil is considerably darker in color than the conventional version and has a rounder character, slightly more full-bodied. The scent and the aroma have something vinous with hints of wood and vanilla.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.02
My ratebeer.com rating: 4

Intro: A 375ml corked and caged bottle with the normal impossible to pull out Verzet cork, and an expiry date of 20th November 2027. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: Brown in colour with an orange hue, and a one and a half finger beige head that had good retention and left some nice lacing.
Aroma: Tart, grape skin, dark berries, cherry, oak, with a splash of vinegar and acetone.
Taste: Sour, tart, grape skin, cherry, red wine vinegar, oak, light caramel, slightly vinous, with hints of vanilla.
Mouthfeel: Moderate acidity, medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Although vinegary acidity may be on the borderline, it was still an enjoyable Oud Bruin.

Alvinne Cuvée Freddy Bosbes-Blueberry

Brewery: Brouwerij Alvinne
Country: Belgium
ABV: 8%
Style: American Wild Ale
Other Notes: Dark Fruit Sour Ale. Sweet 3/5, Sour 3/5 & Bitter 1/5

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Foeder aged dark sour ale with Canadian blueberries.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.91
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.8

Intro: A 330ml bottle, with a best before date of June 2023. Poured into an Alvinne teku glass.
Appearance: Dark brown in colour with a one finger beige head that had good retention and left lots of nice lacing.
Aroma: Sweetish, tart, blueberry skin, mixed berries, oak, with a splash of caramel, maybe even coffee.
Taste: Tart, sour, blueberry skin, blueberry, vinous, red wine, with a hint of caramel.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate to soft carbonation.
Overall: Another enjoyable beer by Alvinne, but the blueberries wasn’t as prominent as I had hoped for.

Alvinne Cuvée Sofie Sleedoorn-Sloeberries

Brewery: Brouwerij Alvinne
Country: Belgium
ABV: 8%
Style: American Wild Ale
Other Notes: Fruit Sour. Sweet 2/5, Sour 3/5 & Bitter 1/5

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Foeder aged blond sour with foraged sloeberries.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.07
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.9

Intro: A 330ml bottle, with a best before date of May 2023. Poured into an Alvinne teku glass.
Appearance: A hazy murky rusty dark orange brown colour with a one finger white head that had decent retention and left some nice lacing.
Aroma: Tart, sour fruit, berry skin, blackberries, oak, with hints of funk and acetone.
Taste: Sour, tart, dark berry skin, mixed dark berries, plum, oak, a touch acidic, and hints of vinegar.
Mouthfeel: Medium to light bodied with moderate to high carbonation.
Overall: I have no idea what sloeberries are supposed to smell or taste like, but this was enjoyable and great to drink.

Alvinne Batch #1000 Abrikoos-Apricot

Brewery: Brouwerij Alvinne
Country: Belgium
ABV: 6.7%
Style: American Wild Ale
Other Notes: Fruit Sour Ale. Sweet 2/5, Sour 3/5 & Bitter 1/5

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Batch 1000, a milestone on our craft beer journey. We made a long boil blond sour and barrel aged it on American oak St-Emilion (red wine) barrels. This beer was macerated on apricots for 2 months.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.76
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.6

Intro: A 330ml bottle, with a best before date of November 2023. Poured into an Alvinne teku glass.
Appearance: A slightly hazy rusty copper orange colour with some light sediment and a thin, large bubbly one fingered off white head that dissipated fairly quickly, while leaving some lacing.
Aroma: Light aromas, but tart, funky, oak, lightly vinous and touches of apricot.
Taste: Light sour, tart, vinous, grape, oak, light funk and apricot.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: I preferred the original base version more. I felt that the additions of apricot seemed to have taken away from the nice strong barrel character that just wasn’t as prominent in this version.